


This is War

by Hollyspacey



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Laser Tag, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 07:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6145972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollyspacey/pseuds/Hollyspacey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avengers and associates turn to laser tag as their latest team building exercise. Darcy comes up with a plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is War

Bucky had decided he was just about done with the words, ‘team-building exercise.’

Not that he had anything against team building, not at all. It was a good thing, perhaps even necessary, especially after all those times he’d tried to kill Steve and Sam and Natasha, although no one really seemed to blame him for that. Also, that little tiff between Steve and Tony not too long ago that probably would have turned into some kind of civil war, had Pepper not stepped in and forced some common sense into the situation.

Now they were all good, thankfully, but it was decided that they needed to work on their talking skills, and communicating skills, and not rushing into situations with fists raised skills. Basically, they needed to learn to work together better.

This team building stuff sounded good on paper, but seemed to Bucky nothing more than an excuse to goof off, and for Tony and Steve to flex their muscles at each other. Rock climbing, capture the flag, the Great Paintball Disaster of 2015. Now, the idea had come up for laser tag.

Tony made plans to set up a course and promised that this was the best team-building idea anyone would ever come up with. Low stress, not emotionally compromising, and less likely to create a vengeful Natasha who was determined to murder whoever had gotten green paint in her hair. (It was, of course, Tony, who swore up and down that he didn’t do it just to make gross Hulk jokes.)

Bucky would have just disappeared for the whole thing, if not for one Darcy Lewis. She sidled up to him while he was making breakfast, gazing at him with those big blue eyes, tiny smirk on those full lips, “You ready for laser tag today?” Bucky gave a shrug, obviously not looking terribly thrilled and she nudged his hip with hers, “Oh, c’mon. It’ll be fun. I’ll be there.”

This caught Bucky’s attention. Darcy usually found ways around attending the more strenuous activities. She’d claimed paperwork to avoid the field day, had _accidentally_ lost some of Jane’s data right before the camping trip (it had miraculously turned up the next day), and claimed she was on her period to avoid the softball game. Bucky was especially amused by how effective that one was, Tony and Steve all but begged her to leave when she started going into detail about her heavy flow.

“You really gonna participate this time? No lab disasters or medical emergencies on the horizon?”

Darcy grinned, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. And, no. I actually like laser tag. I grew up in a small town, so me and my friends played a lot. Of course, I’m probably super rusty now, especially against you guys.”

“Well, we’ll take it easy on you,” he grinned at her.

Darcy smacked his arm, “Don’t you dare! I want to win fair and square.”

“Oh, you think you’re gonna win?” Not that he doubted her, but she seemed pretty certain that she was going to take them all down.

“I _know_ I’m gonna win. I have a plan.”

Bucky took in her serious expression and nodded, “And what kind of plan is that?”

Darcy shrugged, “I’ll be on Team Badass. Which basically means I’m going to beg to be on Nat’s team and be her backup while she mows down everyone.”

Bucky considered this, he knew quite well what Natasha was capable of, “It isn’t a terrible plan.”

“Right?”

*****

Sure enough, that afternoon when the time came to pick teams, Natasha snatched up Darcy immediately. It seemed the girl had her hooks in everyone. Natasha then added Clint, and at Darcy’s insistence, a totally uninterested Jane, creating a team that she christened Strike Team Delta V.2.0: Team Badass.

Bucky, of course ended up on a team with Steve, along with Sam and Thor. Steve quickly denied Darcy's offer to help name their team, citing the fact that Team Tall and Dreamy wasn't very intimidating, and Sam then took objection to the name Team Old Hotties, on account of him being the only one under 90. Eventually, they settled on Team America, Fuck Yeah, if only because Tony got a constipated look on his face whenever Steve cursed, and everyone enjoyed that.

Tony’s team consisted of a long-suffering Rhodey, and the inseparable Wanda and Vision. Aptly named Team Stark because, _I paid for all of this, remember?_

The rules were explained and gear was handed out, and everyone lined up, the teams eyeing each other for weak spots. At Friday's countdown, they all dispersed, spreading throughout the course.

Bucky caught a glimpse of Natasha and Clint off doing their thing, but they soon disappeared into the shadows. Darcy, too, disappeared quickly, giving him a grin and a wave as she took off. Turning the corner, Bucky walked right into Tony's hiding spot and with a shot to the back, took him out.

He slipped around the course like a shadow, evading everyone’s guns and taking out a few of the others himself. Slipping down a dimly lit corridor, Bucky heard shots and peeked around a low wall, spotting Thor standing guard over an alcove.

Bucky watched, and realized that Jane was sitting in the corner with a notebook and pen, totally oblivious to the fighting around her. Every few minutes or so, Thor would shoot her to keep her out of the game and she'd shoot him a small smile.

Wanda and Vision were pretty simple to take out, it seemed they either didn't understand the game, or simply didn't care to, and Bucky would put money on the latter. At this point, Steve's team was the only one with no casualties. It looked like they might just win.

“Bucky, psst.”

Bucky swung his gun around to the corner the voice had come from. He crept closer and there was Darcy, holding her gun out by her index finger to show she wasn’t going to shoot him. Bucky cautiously crept forward, “You know we’re on opposite teams, right doll?”

In the low light, he could see her roll her eyes and motion him forward, “Shut up. I’m tired of playing, I’ve been hiding in this corner for twenty minutes. Keep me company for a few?”

Bucky took in how cute and earnest she looked in her laser tag vest as she slipped her gun into her waistband and held up her hands in surrender and he nodded, edging towards the corner. They were standing within a foot of each other, but soon the sound of footsteps grew louder as someone came towards their hiding spot.

Darcy held up her finger to her lips and pulled him further into the corner, their bodies pressed together against the wall. Finally, the footsteps faded, but Darcy made no move to put space between them.

If anything, Bucky thought that she was pressing closer to him, the softness of her body pressing against his bulk. He could feel her relax against him, her fingers gripping his vest. She grinned up at him, “That a gun in your pocket or you just happy to see me, soldier?”

Bucky huffed and held up his gun, “Trust me, you’d know if it were something else.”

Darcy stifled a giggle, and Bucky took in the way she shyly bit her lip, and the way her cheeks pinked ever so slightly. He moved his free hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ears, and as he began the withdraw it, Darcy reached up and held it in place. She nuzzled against his hand and leaned against him.

Their eyes met, her pupils blown wide, and he watched in slow motion as she reached up to run her hand along the back of his neck to run her fingers through his hair. She must have seen something in his eyes, because she grinned a little grin and stood on her tiptoes, moving forward to crush her lips against his.

Bucky opened his mouth at the first dart of her tongue, swallowing her gasp as his tongue rubbed against hers. Darcy slipped her hand below his vest to run her hands along his back, and Bucky held her hips and pressed her into the wall. He had just hooked her leg around his waist, when Darcy readjusted herself, and moments later, he heard the sound of someone being shot.

It was him. The little devil had played him.

He looked down at her grinning dazedly at him. “Pew pew,” she whispered softly. She slipped from his embrace and took off out of the corner on shaky legs.

Bucky called out to her before she could get away, “Was all that just so you could win?”

She turned back with a sheepish look, “No. It was sort of one of those ‘two-birds-one-stone’ kind of things. I really wanted to make out with you. Figured this would be a good way to make that happen. Winning was just the cherry on top of a very tasty sundae,” Darcy gave him a once over, “ _Very_ tasty.”

“You’re ruthless, you know? I thought you wanted to win fair and square.” Bucky said with a chuckle.

Darcy considered this for a moment, and shrugged, “Turns out I just really wanted to win.”

She turned to dash away, but paused, turning back once more, “So, the making out thing. You wanna do that again? Maybe not in a war zone next time?”

“Yes. As long as that is your sole reason for doing it.”

“Yeah, I think it’s a pretty compelling reason.”

Bucky huffed softly, “Ok, then. You got plans for dinner tonight?”

“Now I do.”

They grinned at each other a moment, but the sound of Tony yelling at Rhodey pulled them back into the moment and Darcy darted away with a salute and a, “See you tonight, soldier!”


End file.
